In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, I, the inventor, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. I also grow a lesser number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits, usually to capture recessive traits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘AUTUMN BRIGHT’.
During the spring of 1999 I gathered fruit from a ‘September Bright’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,475) nectarine tree in may experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif., in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). I removed the seeds from the fruit, stratified, germinated, and grew them as seedlings on their own root in my greenhouse, and upon reaching dormancy that fall transplanted them to a cultivated area in the experimental orchard described above. During the fruit evaluation season of 2003 I selected the present variety as a single tree from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, I asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ rootstock (unpatented) upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is most similar to its parent, ‘September Bright’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,475) nectarine, by producing nectarines that are firm in texture, clingstone in type, yellow in flesh color, and mostly red in skin color, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that matures about seven days later.